


A Better Beginning

by rangerofdiscord



Series: Chasing After You - A Series of Allison/Leonard Drabbles [1]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-30 23:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10886718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerofdiscord/pseuds/rangerofdiscord
Summary: Welcome to the UNSC Army, Bethany Allison McCoy.





	A Better Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my google docs for a while now, and I debated whether or not I wanted to make this a separate story or not given the fact that I plan on moving this into AU territory eventually. But I quickly realized I have 0 desire to go into Allison's backstory as much as I would like to, so I decided to just. Throw it into the pile of drabbles/one-shots.

“Well, all of your files seem to be intact. There’s only a few things…” The lady droned on. She had one of those voices that could put someone to sleep instantly. In sixth grade, Allison’s middle school teacher had been like that. Monotonous voice, nothing really interesting to say or add to the text material. She had taken some of the most interesting years of U.S. History and made them boring.

“Is there something wrong?” There couldn’t have been. She had everything. Social security, birth certificate, thumbprint. The only thing that could be wrong was… 

“Well, it says here you were reported as missing five years ago in Galveston County, Texas.” Looking over the holo-computer at her, the annoying woman whose name Allison had already forgotten raised an eyebrow at her. “Something you want to tell me?”

Giving her a bored stare, she simply raised an eyebrow. “That was five years ago. I have every single piece of proof I need to enlist, and I’ve passed all the tests since you were all so gracious enough to remove the educational requirements.” Sitting back, she crossed her arms. This was taking too long. The room was tiny and claustrophobic, too hot even for her. 

“Hmmm…” Annoying lady pursed her lips, giving Allison a very thorough glance before going back to her computer. “The only other thing is that it looks like you wanted to be kept here, in San Antonio. Unfortunately, dear that just won’t work.” Taking off her glasses, she gave Allison a disgustingly sympathetic look. She hated that look. It did nothing to make her feel better, it was weak and performative. The word dear made her want to vomit. 

“Then where else can I train?” 

“Our only training facility accepting new recruits at this time is… A bit unique. It’s one of our ships orbiting Sol system space, you’ll be on traveling around the Milky Way galaxy while in Basic before coming back here to be officially deployed.”   
“What?” Sitting up now, she could feel all of her confidence and hope being sucked out of her. “But, I-- Is there no other base accepting new recruits?” 

Shaking her head, the lady gave her another aggravatingly sweet sympathetic look. Had Natalie been there, she probably would have laughed. Only she knew how much Allison hated those looks. They were so fake, so performative. The people giving them didn’t really give a fuck about your issues, but they wanted to pretend like they did. It was the kind of look that meant “I want to feel bad, but I’m not going to do anything because it would inconvenience me.”. It was the same look every fucked up person in her fucked up town had given her when she had told them about her abuse. 

“Sadly, you’ve come at a bit of a… Crowded time. The UNSC has been plucking children out of school for new initiatives and projects, so they must be trained,” Glancing over the text filling up the screen, her voice hummed and hmmmed every now and then. “and they want more ships out there dedicated to training you in space. Gets you used to it.”

Letting out a disgusted noise, Allison fell back in her chair, running a hand over her face. She did her best to not show fear, but being in space was a whole different fuckin’ venture. Not that she had any other choice though. Eighteen years old with no schooling, there was no way she’d get very far in the world. And she was tired of being homeless. 

Her hand went into her tangled mane of hair, running through and pulling at the curls. “Fine, that will work. When do I need to report?” 

“Let me go ahead and confirm this and--” Typing away on the screen, she continued to hum as Allison watched intently, waiting. The day she had to report would be a day to celebrate, it would mark the first day in five years that she wasn’t living on the streets. “Next day to report is in a week. You’ll need to take your Oath by Monday.”

“I can do it.” 

For the first time, the lady gave her a genuine smile. It was warm, something she hadn’t seen in a long time. “Perfect. Welcome to the UNSC Army, Bethany Allison McCoy.”

“Actually, it’s just Allison.” 

“Well, Allison.” Standing up, the lady picked up a small data tablet and handed it to Allison as she stood up as well, feeling a surge of pride. She had done it. She had actually fucking done it. She was entering the United Nations Space Command, everything she had ever fucking wanted since realizing she could fight. She had a chance at having a life. “Here’s all of the information you’ll need, including when and where to go for your Oath, and when and where to report for Basic, as well as everything you’ll need. Good luck, is there anything else I can help you with?” 

Glancing down at the tablet, she stroked it’s silky screen before looking back up and shaking her head. “No, thank you ma’am.” For the first time, she saw the name of the lady, printed on the desk. Elizabeth Jones. “Have a good day.” 

“You too, sweetheart.” Ducking her head, she turned to walk out of the office. The door opened automatically, and she almost ran into a guy around her age who was standing around, pacing back and forth. 

Despite the fact that she nearly ran into him, he continued to pace, not even noticing her. Snorting and rolling her eyes, she moved past him, resisting the temptation to mutter something under her breath like she might have usually done. 

The door outside was close, and as she stepped outside of the small enlistment office located in a tiny strip mall, Allison took huge gulps of fresh air. Bright rays of sun hit her, feeling so much better than the claustrophobic, stifling heat she had felt inside. Closing her eyes and raising her arms, she took a moment to just take everything in. 

She had a week left on Earth, and she was going to enjoy every last second of it. 

 

The first thing she needed to do was make sure she had everything she needed, and that she was “Up to Code”. This meant making sure all of her shit was still where she had left it at the youth shelter, and finding someone to cut her hair. 

Out of everything, her hair was the one thing she was hesitant to let go of the most. Since running away, she hadn’t cut it once, and now it was almost impossibly long. There weren’t many parts of her appearance that she liked, much. Her waist had always been too thick, too many freckles, lips and nose too large. 

But her hair, she loved her hair. Loved how fluffy and curly it was, how it fell down around her like a curtain. It was golden, too. Like wheat at sunset, flickers of pure gold and yellow throughout the messy mane. 

Staring at herself in the mirror, she often focused primarily on her hair, ignoring the other aspects of her appearance. And now, as she watched herself, she pulled the long mess of hair back, watching to see the difference it made. Her hair would be primarily up, in buns or ponytails, for the next few months, and it was something she needed to get used to. 

“Vanity is a sin, you know.” Thad said, walking up to her with his hands stuck in her pockets. Out of all of the assholes she had run with back in the day, of course it had to be fuckin’ Thad who had showed up at the youth center, bragging to everyone about his accomplishments. 

“Good thing I could care less about what some asshole in the sky thinks about me.” Letting her hair fall back down, Allison turned, hands on her hips to look up at the asshole. “Now, is there something you need from me, or d’you mind fucking off for a while? I’m not in the mood for your shittiness. Not now, not ever.” 

“Oof. So harsh, I would have thought you’d be a lil bit more appreciative to see an old friend after all these years.” 

“Hasn’t been years, fuckface. And you were never my friend. So why don’t you do me a favor, and go somewhere else? I have shit to do.” 

Sitting on the edge of her cot, he just smirked at her, leaning forward. “Yeah? What shit?” 

“Military shit.” 

“Oh fuck. Allison’s sold out.” 

“I haven’t fuckin’ sold out, you limp dick. I’m actually taking steps to get out of the shtihole that is being a homeless youth in the United States of ‘Fuck You’.” Pushing him aside, she squatted down, pulling her bag out to rummage for any scissors she might have. “Unlike someone, I don’t intend on spending the rest of my life depending on people who take pity on me.”

“Not after Natalie, huh?” Thad asked. 

Feeling her muscles tense up, Allison sat up a bit and rocked back on her heels. Thad was above her, and she looked up at him. Her blue eyes met his own dark brown, narrowed. “Get the fuck out of here.” Was all she said, coolly, ignoring the rising heat in her stomach. 

“Aw, don’t be like that. I just wanna have a chat with my friend.” 

“Tough luck, now get the fuck out. I don’t feel like being arrested for stabbing you with these scissors.” Looking away from him, she grabbed the pair she had found at the bottom of her bag, pulling them out. When she looked back up, he was slinking away, hands in his pockets. Smirking, she got back up and glanced around. 

She could ask someone to cut her hair for her. But that would require asking someone for help, when she could just as easily put her hair up and cut it that way. 

Setting the scissors down, she pulled out a ponytail and began to smooth her hair back, pulling it in order to get a tight ponytail. When she was finished, and satisfied, she picked up the scissors and took a deep breath.


End file.
